"Then…..what should we do now?"
When Madam Shao finished asking this question, she and Mister Shao looked over at their eldest son.
Shao Zelin actually also had no idea, but he was calmer than his parents so he could make the best decisions for them, "Don't do anything. The top priority right now is to figure out how Xiao An is being held hostage and where the people monitoring him are. Father, just pretend you don't know anything and mother———-"
Shao Zelin paused and looked over at Madam Shao, "You should go in hiding for a while. You are too stimulated right now and can easily expose yourself in front of Xiao An."
Madam Shao didn't want to leave but she also knew that her eldest son was right. After a moment of silence, she nodded. Shao Zelin then stood up, "Just do this for now. Remember, don't mention this to anyone because anyone could be a threat to Xiao An."
Madam Shao and Mister Shao were both deep in thought. Just as Shao Zelin was about to leave, Madam Shao suddenly remembered something and stopped him, "Wait!"
Shao Zelin turned around and saw Madam Shao looking at him hesitantly, "Louis...."
Before, she had thought that her younger son's sudden change in temperament was because of the fright he had received from the rebels and his insistence on marrying Louis West immediately was because he had fallen in love with him at first sight and wanted a sense of security. But when she thought about it now....if he was held hostage and the other party asked him to gather intel, marrying Louis and living with him seemed to be something done in order to achieve that.
The more she thought about it, the more shocked Madam Shao's expression became. In an instant, she came to an understanding. She looked at her elder son with confidence, "He didn't marry Louis voluntarily, did he?"
Please read this from kk translates
"He actually doesn't like Louis and was forced to do it by those people, isn't that right?!"
This question was something Shao Zelin had also asked. At that time, Shao Ze'an had given him a very middle school student-like answer.
Anyone could be monitoring Shao Ze'an's actions, but Louis definitely wasn't one because if that was the case, Shao Ze'an wouldn't have had to marry Louis. If Louis was a traitor, why let Shao Ze'an come to him and steal information that he already knows?
Shao Zelin pressed his lips into a line, "Xiao An doesn't like him. He had no choice."
Madam Shao's vision turned dark. She almost fainted.
Being forced to marry someone you didn't like, being threatened by strangers in an unfamiliar environment and working for them while not knowing when they may kill you — her son had been living this kind of life for the past few months and all of them, including his most trusted parents, were completely unaware of this. They had even happily sent him off to someone else's home.
Their eldest son didn't return home often and had inferred this after only seeing his brother a few times. What if he hadn't returned? What if the one who picked the youngest son up was someone else? Maybe they wouldn't even know about this and would sit at home feeling ashamed that they had given birth to a traitor.
Only now, Madam Shao began to sob. She was afraid of being heard by Shao Ze'an who was sleeping next door, so she tried to hold herself back. Mister Shao's grief was no less than hers. He was smarter so he could even imagine what kind of life Shao Ze'an must've been living the past few months. Before the accident, Shao Ze'an was just a rich young master who didn't know anything about the ways of the world. After having experienced this so suddenly, how scared and despaired must he have been? Just the thought of this made Mister Shao feel extremely upset.
He took a deep breath and walked to Shao Zelin's side, "What should we do about Louis? He and your brother are together all the time, would he find out?"
Shao Zelin silently raised his eyes, "He seemed to have already found out."
"What?!"
Mister Shao looked at him in shock. Madam Shao who also heard him looked up in daze. Shao Zelin had never felt so troubled before. He rubbed his temples and said calmly, "Leave it to me, I'll talk to him. Don't worry, although he is an admiral, he is also Xiao An's husband. He won't be so ruthless."
Mister Shao and Madam Shao were very worried. They were afraid that Louis would make a decision based on his identity as an admiral and send Shao Ze'an to military court. After all, Shao Ze'an is guilty of treason. Whether he was forced or not, he could bring harm to the Empire so they must stop it from happening.
Hearing Shao Zelin's words, the two could only leave it to him no matter how anxious they felt. Neither of them slept well that night and were constantly worrying. Early the next morning, Madam Shao left the residence before Shao Ze'an got up. Before she could completely settle her emotions down, she was not to appear in front of Shao Ze'an.
When Chi Zhao woke up, he felt very refreshed. The first person he met when he left his room was Mister Shao. He happily greeted, "Dad, slept well last night?"
Mister Shao silently turned around, shocking Chi Zhao.
Good heavens! Such dark eyebags. Did he stay up the entire night?!
Chi Zhao looked at him suspiciously, "Dad, your eyes...…"
Mister Shao unconsciously touched his eyes. He then smiled calmly, "Ah this? I was too excited when I heard that your mother wanted to travel on her own and didn't sleep until dawn."
Chi Zhao: "...….."
How long have you been under Madam Shao's oppression for...…
Madam Shao had made an excuse that she was going to travel alone but, in fact, she is currently secretly wiping her tears in another one of their residences on the main star. Chi Zhao had no idea that the world had completely changed while he slept and didn't doubt Mister Shao's words, so he followed Mister Shao down to have breakfast.
When he went downstairs, he saw Shao Zelin in a military uniform again. He couldn't help but wonder, "Brother, didn't you ask for leave?"
Shao Zelin originally planned to have a chat with Louis through the communicator device today, but he received news last night that Louis's spiritual power had gone berserk on Scarlett Star and that the impacted area was very large. Louis had already been brought back by the military and would arrive at the Mission Port in two hours. It is estimated that he would be prosecuted by the Military Procuratorate for this.
Before the prosecution, Louis would definitely not be able to get out and all communication devices would also be confiscated.
Please read this from kk translates
Shao Zelin calmly lowered his smart brain and replied, "Yeah, I'm going back to the station for a look and to chat with my subordinates. Standing around leisurely while they're working feels quite refreshing."
Chi Zhao: "...…" What a strange refreshing activity it is.
He looked at the smart brain Shao Zelin had turned off. He had casually glanced at it earlier and he seemed to have seen the word Scarlett, but Chi Zhao had no impression of that word so the page didn't attract his attention.
Seeing Shao Ze'an leaving, Shao Zelin pulled up the news interface again. The news had been completely supressed by the military. No outsiders knew that Scarlett Star's sudden abnormality was because Admiral West had lost control of his spiritual powers. As long as no one knows, the punishment for Louis shouldn't be too serious. Looks like he would just be asked to write a reflection report and be fined a large amount of money.
Louis was an admiral after all. Unless he committed an unforgivable crime, they wouldn't put him in jail.
Not long afterwards, Shao Zelin set off. Chi Zhao watched his departing back and felt as if something was now outside of his control. He poked the system, "Do you think that they're acting strangely?"
The system had no energy and it also didn't have the super intuition Chi Zhao has. All it could do was scan the surroundings from time to time. Hearing Chi Zhao's question, it subconsciously scanned the surroundings again.
[No, what's wrong?]
Chi Zhao also didn't know. After thinking for a while, he couldn't say what seemed strange and could only give up, "I don't know, maybe I thought wrong. By the way, what's the next plot point? Don't tell me they're going to make me steal intel and continue with it for four years?"
Four years was enough time for the situation between the Empire and the rebels to be completely reversed. Four years later, the rebels became more and more powerful and the Emperor also became more and more anxious. Louis looked at the crumbing Empire and decisively brought along his troops to attack the place where the rebels were stationed. By that time, the rebels no longer hid in the Death Galaxy and had their own their own territory and base.
That desperate war originally had some hope of victory but because Shao Ze'an was by his side, the rebels had already learned of the news before they arrived, and it was naturally a complete defeat in the end.
After a near death experience, he managed to return to the main star. At that time, there was also a rebellion on the main star's side. The Emperor's brother couldn't stand it anymore and had usurped the power and became the new Emperor. He then regrouped and worked together with many ministers before they finally annihilated the rebels ten years later.
What happens ten years later had nothing to do with Chi Zhao because he died four years later. The moment Louis returns to the main star completely bloodied and defeated would be the time for him to retire and leave.
[Let me see….There aren't many plot points in this world. You basically just need to listen to Morris. Oh yes, the next plot point is three months later. Due to the intel Shao Ze'an provided, the aide was caught by the rebels during a mission and was tortured for a whole month before being rescued by Louis. The moment the aide was brought out, he was shot and killed by long-range weapon wielded by one of the rebels. Louis who watched him die before him was greatly stimulated by his death.]
Chi Zhao: "...."
He asked the system very sincerely, "System, there is a question I've been meaning to ask you for a while."
[Hmm? What is it?]
"Are you related to Zhou Papi in any way? Is he your relative?" (KKnotes: With some quick googling, seems to be a villain in some novel?)
System: "....."
Chi Zhao didn't understand, "Did the protagonist eat your rice or steal your wife? Why do you hate him so much? I've noticed that all the plot points share a common feature and it is to torture the protagonist particularly miserably. Tell me the truth, does he owe you money?"
System: "....." What the hell is that?
The system was silent for about five seconds. It then made an aggrieved sound.
[That has nothing to do with me. That was just how the plot was written. If you want to be the protagonist, how could you be one without paying a small price for it? No one can have a smooth sailing life forever; this isn't a Mary Sue world.]
"Alright, what you said makes sense, but I still have another question."
[Speak, what is it?]
Chi Zhao chuckled, "It's the same old. What if I can't do it?"
System: "...…"